Until the End of Time
by NTJB
Summary: Summary: Who would you be with at world's end? What if you couldn't be with the one you loved most in the world, the one you swore to protect? What if you caused his death and could do nothing to stop it? Emmett/Rosalie. AH


**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all rights to Twilight and these characters, but not Seattle. Nope, Stephenie does not own Seattle... or the Mariners... or the apocalypse.**

**Originally written for the Season of our Discontent Contest (nonentry). ****Picture Prompt Number: 9**

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><p>Gray shrapnel hit the apartment window, cracking its surface, leaving a trail of soot as it rolled down the 20-odd stories to the streets of Seattle, Washington. The sky was an unnatural shade of red I had seen only on film and television. And for the second time in the last ten minutes, I felt the building shake beneath me.<p>

"Emmett!" I heard my front door open, the voice of a woman I would never have the chance to love, panicked.

"Emmett, what's going on?" Rosalie hurried into my apartment, bleary-eyed and her long blond hair windblown. She ran to me, dropping her briefcase onto the floor. "LA... Is it true?"

I was unsure how to answer her and hated it. Shit! Rosalie told me last night her dad was in LA on vacation for the first time in his life.

The building shook around us even more, and I held her tighter. Her body trembled in my arms and her eyes were filled with tears. Rosalie was scared. I never thought I would see such terror in her eyes. But there it was, falling down her cheeks and rising in goosebumps along her arms, and there was nothing I could do to stop what happened in L.A., or what was happening here. There was nowhere to go. Seattle was teetering on the edge of a cataclysmic earthquake and tsunami. I didn't know the first thing about what to do for either. There hadn't been one in Seattle in over 100 years.

What precautions should I take when the sky was blood red? Where the fuck do you go when CNN reported five minutes ago that Los Angeles ceased to exist?

"It's true, isn't it?" She asked again, clutching her chest. She shook her head, denying my answer already.

I could not lie to her, slowly nodding.

She buried her face into my chest and began to sob. Her cries broke into me, and I could not withstand her anguish and mine. I struggled to hold it in for her, to be as resilient as she had been everyday that I had known her. But I cried my eyes out. This shit wasn't right.

We had been together for only a week, but our attraction was immediate. I had never met a girl who loved the Mariners, The National Lampoon's movies (from the 80s, not the Van Wilder shit), and could drink more whiskey than my grandpa. A girl like that didn't exist in the world I came from. The moment I met her, I knew I could never let her go.

ooooooo

"She's so beautiful, Emmett. You don't even know," Jasper said at the Mariners/Yankees game last week at Safeco Field. "Could've been Megan Fox's sister. And her tits are fucking perfect. Not too big or small. And she's not that smart, like you said. She could be in my pants in an hour if I wanted her to be."

"She sounds amazing man," I said, suddenly distracted. I liked a girl with perky breasts like the next guy, but Ichiro Suzuki just hit a homerun off of Bartolo Colon on the first pitch on the bottom of the ninth inning. Even better, the ball was heading straight for us in right field.

"Get dad's glove, Jay! Pick that shit up. We're about to catch a homer!" I yelled, jumping up to my feet and yanking Jasper up by the collar. It was easy enough. Kid weighed 180 pounds, standing at 6 ft. tall. He couldn't gain muscle mass if he downed all the steroids Sammy Sosa ever had in his lifetime.

I was a couple inches taller and filled out every inch but Jasper was closer to the ball as it arched right over his head. The crowd roared as Suzuki rounded the bases in his usual cavalier jog. He just won the game but he acted like it was just another pitch. When Jasper reached up for it, the ball tipped off the web. When I turned around, I saw that it landed in a tiny brunette's hands behind him.

"Oh shit Alice! You got the ball! Oh shit!" Her hot friend cursed beside her.

The shorter chick's hands, Alice's, barely covered the ball, as she juggled it around. With her arms outstretched and her Mariners t-shirt hiked up, she revealed tight abs and a belly button ring.

I heard Jasper mutter a curse under his breath. He loved belly-button rings. He still had my old poster up of Christina Aguilera from like ten years ago on his wall at home because of that.

I shook my head seeing him drop the glove before turning my full attention to the tiny brunette's friend.

I didn't care what Jasper saw on that Megan Fox clone yesterday. If God could make a perfect set of breasts, they would be on this girl. And she wore these short cut offs, her legs nice and toned, like a runner's legs. Her long wavy blond hair reached her lower back inches above her round firm ass. Last time I saw an ass that perfect was when I fucked a personal trainer, Jane, a couple days ago. But this girl had hips and obviously good taste in teams. Jane was a goddamn Yankees fan.

The ball slipped from shorty's hands to her hot friend's, to the ground.

"Shoot! Hurry up and get it before it rolls away, Al!" The hotter girl said, who bent over for the ball. My cock got hard immediately. Her ass was up high in the air, and it was so close I could squeeze her apple bottom in my hands.

I felt something hit the front of my sneakers, but didn't check to see what it was. The blond cursed, dropping down to her knees and I thought of all the mind blowing reasons she could stay down there.

I heard her curse again. Wow, what a mouth. Then, she hopped up from the seats, her big blue eyes staring right at me.

"Damn," she said, her full lips went slack and I swear she looked at me like she wanted to drop back on her knees and do all the dirty things I had imagined.

"Rosalie!" I heard a high-pitched whine from Betty Boop at my left rip through the air. "You had it! Where's the ball?"

Rosalie's cheeks became as red as a cardinal as she bent her head, looking down at the floor. That was when I remembered I felt something hit my foot.

"Emmett, for fucks sake! Move your foot!" Jasper called out, falling to his knees beside me. Suddenly, everyone around me fell to the sticky, grimy floor, including an oafish Yankee fan wearing a jersey so large it could replace the tarp for the field. Fucking Yankee fans. _And_he smelled like corn beef and ass.

"Oh shit!" I had no room to pick it up. Thank God John Goodman over there couldn't bend over low enough to pick up the ball. Jasper grabbed it instead, jumping up and down so fast he looked like a piston.

The oaf and everyone else in the stadium picked up their bags of peanuts and plastic bats and filed out of the stadium. Me? I couldn't leave. Not until I found out what was the name of this golden goddess.

"Dammit Alice!" Rosalie slapped Betty Boop on the arm and plopped down onto the seat. "We'll never get another opportunity like that in our lifetime."

She pouted a pink bottom lip and crossed her long tan legs. Jesus Christ. With that pout, this girl was going to make me give a ball Jasper and I had wanted since we were barely old enough to hold a ball.

I thought that perfect pink pout alone was hard enough to refuse but her eyes had something dangerous in them. There was dejection and regret, but also a dare. I swear she was playing me. And I might not have known the rules, but I didn't care. I wanted her to win every time.

"Jasper, give them the ball."

Rosalie arched her eyebrow, frowning, but it didn't reach her eyes, which sparkled. She shook her head.

"No, you two got it fair and square," Rosalie said quietly. "Alice has butterfingers. We'll get another ball some other time."

"We will?" Alice asked. I saw her shoulders droop.

"No, you two deserve it," Jasper said, sighing. Good man. He handed the ball over to Alice. "Here."

"Oh wow! Thanks." She snatched it without hesitation. "What's your name?" Alice asked him, fingering the stitching on the ball. She was transfixed by it, not looking at Jasper at all. I doubt she heard my brother's quiet reply.

"I'm Rosalie," Rosalie said, offering me her hand. "What's your name?" she asked me, looking straight into my eyes.

"Emmett. Cullen," I gulped, taking her hand.

"Well, Emmett Cullen. Thanks for giving my friend her ball back. She's wanted one since she was a kid."

I didn't let go of her hand. I couldn't.

"It was the right thing to do. You had it first."

"Hmm." Rosalie said, her blue eyes pleased. "I guess we'll have to make it up to you."

"We will?" Alice asked, throwing the ball into her purse. I looked up to see Jasper blush, turning his back to us to face the field.

Oh fuck.

He was _not_about to let this chick go. I could tell he really liked this Alice girl. She might have been a bitch to him, but girls were like that sometimes. They didn't know a good guy even when he stood right in front of their face.

Jasper couldn't let that get to him. He had to go after her. He was not about to turn 20 and be a goddamn virgin. I wouldn't let him.

"We will." Rosalie confirmed.

ooooooo

Being with her now, watching her crumble, was frustrating as hell. What the fuck was going on in the world where good, innocent people died like this?

I wished I could wrap her in my arms and fly her out of here. I wished I could turn back time and make her father never go on vacation, but I couldn't do any of that. I could do nothing but hold her like a goddamn pussy. Just like my dad had thought of me.

"There were so many dead... outside... people jumping out of windows... What do you think will happen to everyone, to us?" Rosalie asked, her husky voice thick and her blue eyes making me turn into goo.

I wanted to tell her we would be alright. I wanted to tell her I had a panic room that protected people even from an apocalypse. But I didn't have one.

Just this morning I thought we had the rest of our lives to learn more about each other, to grow, to love. I wanted to ask her to move in with me. Now, people were fucking jumping out of windows and shit was ending for the both of us before it began.

ooooooo

I woke up beside Rosalie with a start, colder than I should have been. Some time during the night, we had separated. There was a chilly space between us, and usually, I liked my space. I had fucked girls for years and wanted them out of my bed as soon as my cock got soft.

But Rosalie was different. Other bitches saw my Mercedes SL, my penthouse suite, and saw me as "the hot sportscaster with the huge biceps" on CBS. Rosalie saw _me_. Everyday for the last week, she just saw right through me. And that shit got to me at first. Now, waking up beside her, cold, I knew that that was what I needed in my life, for the rest of my life.

I did not want to wake her by rocking the bed too much. I had a tempurpedic, "can't spill wine if you jump up and down on it" kind of bed. But I was still careful with her, reaching over to touch her nose. I lightly stroked the short tip before inching in closer.

She had that sweet warm scent of sleep all in her long blond hair and soft skin that I wanted to bury my face into. A loose curl fell onto her cheek, and I brushed it off.

Her eyes fluttered open, then, staring straight onto mine. She had woken up curious.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Good morning to you, too, sleepyhead."

She grinned, then covered her mouth. "What time is it?"

She was embarrassed about her morning breath. Every morning I told her it was never a problem, yet she still worried.

I covered my mouth, mocking her, and she laughed that laugh that I loved. It was so full of life, from deep down in her soul. People in my circle don't laugh like that, that deep. And if they do, they're laughing _at_ you.

"You know how I feel about this. Stop making fun of me," she groaned, knitting her eyebrows together.

"And you know that I don't mind it..." I leaned in, kissing her cheek and the tip of her nose. "You always smell good, baby."

"You say that because you've only known me for a week," she said, smiling, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "You'll change your mind when you see the first tampon."

That damn space between us was back, so I quickly sat up and pulled her onto my lap. I should have woken her up twenty minutes ago so that we could be doing some thangs. I kissed the nape of her neck.

"Emmett, come on. I have to go to work. I'm meeting with a major client today from Hong Kong."

"If it was up to me, you'd be waiting in bed for me all day in nothing but this nightie," I said, pushing down the thin straps off of her shoulders.

She turned to face me, rolling her eyes. "Typical. All of your exes were spiritless, absentminded ditzes, weren't they?"

"And that was wrong because?"

She wrinkled her nose, and I couldn't help but lean in for a kiss. She pushed me away, scrambling to the foot of the bed.

"I should have done a background check on you. Who knows what's on that cock of yours..." She said, giggling. I loved when she was judgmental. It reminded me of our first date at Starbucks. She thought I was such a pussy for drinking a pumpkin spice latte. No girl had ever called me a pussy before, especially not since working at CBS.

"Come here," I said as I grabbed her tiny foot before she could go too far, pulling her into me. "You know you want this cock."

I squeezed her hips, pulling her under me, locking her down in between my legs.

"OK, I want your cock. Sue me," she said, covering her mouth again. I could not wait to find out what she could do with her mouth...

She bit her lower lip. "Waking up with you like this every morning this week..." She paused, staring at my t-shirt, tugging the sleeve. Then, she looked up at me again.

"I never want to wake up anywhere else..."

Damn.

Shit!

She wanted to take things to the next level? Already? That was something I had been used to for years. Obsession shit. Chicks leaving panties in my drawers after a couple nights of fucking like they owned me. But unlike those times, I wasn't scared Rosalie'd go Kathy Bates on my ass.

I felt the same way. Goddamn this woman slid deep down inside of me as easily as Ichiro Suzuki slid onto home plate. But I couldn't tell her that, not yet. I wasn't a pussy like Jasper.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She turned her face to the left, shutting her eyes and kissing my forearm. She covered her mouth again.

"I'm saying what _I _think I'm saying."

"What are you _saying_, sleepyhead?"

"Emmett, do I have to spell it out for you? I really like you." She paused, her blue eyes sparkling and dangerous. The first time I saw that look, I was putty in her hands. And now, nothing changed. "I know you like me, too."

I leaned onto my right elbow, pinching her thigh. "I like a lot of things. Fucking, eating, fucking some more. You think you're on the top of that list?"

"I know it. In fact, you might even love me one day."

"What are you, a fortune teller?" I picked up her dainty hand, resting my palm on it for her to read. "Please tell me we'll have sex tonight. One more day of waiting and I might explode."

"Not a chance." Then, she said softly, "I told you I want to wait."

"For what? Manny Ramirez to sign with the Yankees? Come on, Rose. Just the tip." I leaned over her, kissing her cheek, then buried my face into her neck. Sweet Jesus, I could die in this very spot.

"My dad isn't going to like this. He's never liked any of the guys I've liked."

"He's in L.A., he doesn't have to know who you like." I nibbled her neck.

She moaned, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my back.

"How did you find my spot so quickly?" She moaned again. And the way she rolled her hips into me got my cock hard in a second.

"I'm just good," I whispered in her ear. I kissed up to her cheek, looking down at her. "Baby, now, come on."

Her eyes were wistful. As I leaned down to kiss her, she turned away again covering her mouth. Then, she covered mine.

"Sparky, your breath," she said scrunching up her nose again. I laughed hard, hugging her tight. She got that nickname from National Lampoon's Vacation, a classic we both loved. This chick was from another planet, from heaven. No one I knew liked those movies, not even Jasper, especially not chicks.

"Maybe tonight, OK?" Rosalie stroking my shaft with one tiny hand. I groaned, pushing her hand harder into me. She smirked, pulling it off. "I have to go. I can't be late. I have been waiting to meet these clients for months."

I frowned, nodding. I had to help Jasper this morning, anyway. He had a date with Rosalie's best friend, Alice. Finally. If I didn't give him any advice, he'd be a nervous wreck all afternoon.

I lay on my back, watching her scoot over and out of bed, her scent and warmth escaping. The chill returned.

It was in that moment that I knew that I had to let that pussy in me talk. I could never let her go. She had to move in with me as soon as possible.

And as soon as she got home from work, I was going to fuck her so hard, she would regret waiting.

ooooooooo

The anchorman from our local news suddenly said:

"All Seattle residents must evacuate the city immediately. Category Four Tsunami is approaching land. I repeat. All Seattle residents must evacuate the city immediately!" Rich Warren's voice from the evening news engulfed me from our surround sound speakers.

Ours.

Now mine.

Because about one mile over, I looked over Rosalie's shoulder and watched the Pacific Ocean rise up as high as the Space Needle in horror.

"No! No!"

I let go of Rosalie, wanting to fly through the window to get him, to get Jasper. I hurried over to the window, leaning against the glass, banging against it.

"Emmett! What's wrong?" I heard Rosalie's voice shrieking behind me. Then, I heard her gasp and her approach and felt her attempt to pull me away from the window.

"Emmett, please!"

I wouldn't budge. I couldn't. I belonged in that building, not Jasper. He was so much better than me. He would help so many in his lifetime. Now, he would die because of me.

"Emmett please, come."

I grabbed her arm to stop her, holding me behind her. She struggled but she might as well have fought against a brick wall. 300 pound linebackers couldn't push me down.

"I should be in there, not him. He had so much to see, so much to live for."

"You don't know if he's in there."

"No, that's not the way God works, Rosalie. That's not the way the world works. Fuck!"

"You're not God. You don't know. You can't. He could have chickened out. You know how anxious he was this morning."

"It doesn't matter. It happened before, and it'll happen again."

"What do you mean?"

"It's as if I've cursed them. It's all my fault."

"Stop speaking in riddles. Who are you talking about?"

"My parents. Two years ago, I killed my parents."

Everything I was in the world would mean nothing now. Everything I was for the past two years was to protect Jasper. And now I stood in our penthouse about to watch him die, just as I did our parents, all because of what I had told him.

oooooooooo

"She's gonna say no, Em. She didn't remember anything about me when I called her last night..." Jasper quickly slurped down the milk from his bowl of Fruit Loops. He would never gain muscle mass if he kept eating that fruity loopies shit.

"You're doing curls and crunches as soon as you get home," I ordered through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "What did I tell you about those carbs, dude? You want a gut like dad?"

He put the bowl down, giving me the finger. Asswipe.

"You wanna keep that finger, stick it-"

"- up your ass." Jasper rolled his eyes. "Last time I heard that I was twelve and dad clocked me in the head. Just cause he's gone doesn't mean you can talk to me like that." He pushed his bowl of cereal away, scowling. "Two years doesn't make you dad, Em."

"Hell yeah it does. You're it, man. You're the only family I got. I gotta protect you."

"Protecting doesn't mean talking down to me like I'm an ingrate. And you keep talking about dad like he's watching over you, judging you." Jasper shook his head. " He's gone."

"That's not true. Anyway, this isn't about him."

"Yes it is! You still feel guilty about sending them to Florida. It's not..."

"Fuck! For the last time, Jay!" I slammed my hand on the table. "Don't use me as a guinea pig for your psychology crap! You won't get your BA until next year. Bill me then."

"What's going on out here?" Rosalie asked, walking out of my bedroom already dressed for work. This red dress cut off mid-thigh and her legs went on and on like a 15-inning game. Tonight, I would tear it off of her.

"'Sparky' is acting like he's my dad," Jasper told her, grabbing his empty bowl from the table and standing up.

I watched Rosie turn pink and her lips shape into a thin white line. She threw down her briefcase. Oh no. Last time I saw her with that face, some asshole called Alice, who's from Baton Rouge, a hillbilly. I doubt that idiot would say that word again after Rosie was done with him.

"How dare you!"

"Jay!" I exclaimed, jumping up from the table to hold Rosalie back.

"You were eavesdropping on us?" She screamed at him.

"The walls are thinner than you think, but I've heard women scream louder," he mumbled, down at the floor.

"You have a lot of nerve, Jasper!"

"Hey, don't talk to Rosalie like that!" We said simultaneously. Her fingernails dug into my forearm, and I had to turn around and look her down.

"You need to leave, Rose." She arched her eyebrow. "You know what this is about," I said, stroking the sides of her arms. She looked confused for a split second, her blue eyes searching mine. Then, it hit her. "Alice."

"I'll handle it." I kissed her on her cheek. "Hey, don't go home tonight. I want to make tonight special, baby."

"That's right! Talk about me like I'm not here," Jasper called out. "Well, watch me leave. It's what you really want."

Rosalie frowned, staring up at me but talking to Jasper. "No, I'm leaving. You two need to talk." She craned her neck over my shoulder. "I'm sorry about Alice, Jasper. I'll try to talk to her today, OK?"

I shook my head at her, shocked. That brat spoke to her like she was trash and she was still gunning for him.

"The meeting may run long but I'll try to get here before the storm hits," she said, kissing my cheek. She picked up her briefcase and jacket and left.

I shivered. Jesus. It was a chemical reaction with us. I rubbed my hands together.

"What's up with you?" Jasper asked from behind me. I turned around, watching him grab his books for school. "You're talking to her like she's your girlfriend. I thought 'Emmett Cullen' doesn't do girlfriends'?"

"For one, Emmett Cullen does whatever the fuck he wants. And two, just cause you wanna get into a girl's pants and she's ignoring you, doesn't mean that you talk to her best friend like she's trash. That," I said pointing at the front door. "...isn't just any girl, alright? I'm gonna ask her to move in with me, tonight."

"You've known her for a week. How could you rush into that? This was supposed to be our time, remember? Like dad said..."

He turned and faced the windows. The sky was blue and clear, which was unusual for Seattle. We were expecting a strong storm system tonight, though, according to Rich Warren, the weather guy. He had to have the easiest job. Rain. Rain. More rain, and it might be cold.

"Nah, it's your time. I'm done," I said, patting Jasper's shoulder.

"'These girls are after one thing, man.' Isn't that what you said just last week? We were supposed to have fun with them and drop them."

"I've had fun with almost all the girls in the state of Washington. I'm a grown man, now. I have to move on with my life."

Jasper drew circles on the table, like he did since he was a kid when he didn't want to say anything. When he found out dad lost his job as the hitting coach for the Mariners, he did it. He knew about that before I did, and didn't want me to know. So, he drew circles on the table with his finger until I had to drag it out of him.

Dad was never the same after that, which was why I had to almost bribe my parents to leave town for vacation. Should've told them to go to a damn spa.

"Jay, what the fuck is wrong?"

"Nothin." He sniffed. "Nothin."

"We'll have time to hang out, man. Let's go out tomorrow night, just us."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll help you get their numbers and you'll pick and choose. You just gotta start somewhere. Start with Alice."

His shoulders slumped over and he walked over to the window. He leaned against the glass. "Alice is too hot for me. I'll never get her."

"Shut the fuck up you will. One thing our parents' death taught us is to never say never. Life is too short."

"Em, Alice doesn't like me. I should have gone after that other brunette last week who looked like Megan Fox."

"I thought you said she was an idiot?"

"She was, which was perfect for me. I would have been in her pants in an hour."

"Well, Alice said yes, didn't she? Go after her. Go to Starbucks for some coffee like Rosie and me. Swear to God that shit works like a charm. Rosalie couldn't take her hands off me after one drink." That wasn't true. Rosalie wouldn't even let me kiss her, but I had to get him to believe this could work.

He tapped the window, looking down at the original Starbucks about ten blocks away from our condo.

"You really think she'd like that? There are so many tourists there."

"Dude, she_is_ a tourist. Be her guide, alright? Go after class and just talk that psych shit you like to go on and on about with me. Girls fall for that, too."

"Emmett..."

"This isn't up for debate. You're taking this girl out. Last night will be the last night you sit in your room eavesdropping on me and Rose."

"OK, Sparky." He laughed, his hazel eyes warm, just like mom's.

"Shut up," I said, slapping him upside the head.

oooooooo

"I put them on that plane to Florida. I told them to take that fucking trip. Now, God was fucking with my family again, and about to fuck with me!"

"No baby, no. Please don't say that. It was an accident."

"Fuck that shit! You mean like this?" My eyes burned, more tears about to fall down my face as I waved to the windows. "Goddammit!" I slammed the windowpane with my fist.

"He didn't want to go! You saw him this morning! I made him do it." I could not look at her. I felt like being near her was wrong. All that we had discussed for the first time this morning meant nothing. It wouldn't go anywhere, now. Rosalie did not belong here. She had to get the fuck out.

"Rosalie, you have to leave, now! Right now!" I said, running to the closet to get her coat for her. I heard her refuse and felt like slapping her. She was the most stubborn woman I had ever met in my life.

"I won't go anywhere without you!"

"Rosalie!"

"No! You see the sky. It looks like it's about to rain fire. And you forget my friend may be about to die, too!"

"Goddammit! We're not arguing about this." I pushed her coat into her chest, but she threw it down. "You are getting your ass in a cab and out of my sight!"

"Not without you!"

"Rosalie!"

"You can't be alone tonight. You need someone. And I need someone. And I will not run away because you think I may live. I won't. This is it, OK? Now where the fuck is my phone? And where's yours? We need to call Alice and Jasper!"

She went looking for her phone in her briefcase in the hall, and I dug into my pocket for mine, guilt and regret and fear and anxiety rolling through me.

The sky suddenly darkened to a murky crimson like the sky in Mars in _Total__Recall._

As I heard Rosalie's frantic voice echoing from the hallway, the tidal wave crashed onto the buildings along the shore, destroying every single landmark in its wake. In less than five minutes, another one of my family members was about to die. And in less than five minutes, I could do nothing but watch... again.

Useless pussy, just like dad always thought I was. He never said it, but I could see it in his eyes everyday my entire life. I was never good enough. Here I was now, about to fail him again.

It shouldn't be Jasper. Please God, let it not be Jasper. I called him once, twice, three times and got nothing but a busy signal. Everyone must've been calling their loved ones tonight.

Fathers to the daughters they hadn't spoken to in years because of a stupid fight. Mothers on their hospital beds, so close to recovery, wanting to hear their children's voices for the last time. A cheating husband to his jilted wife, calling to apologize to her because he never loved her as she should have been loved.

An older brother needing to know if his younger brother was still alive and ignored his order to follow the pussy. I had to see Jasper one more time. He had our mother's eyes.

The wave rolled, baleful in its possibility, thunder booming through the air as if it were a warning. Some warning.

The television station went dead so that all I heard was static from the speakers. Then, even the static ceased when the electricity went out across the entire city. The only light came from the sky.

"Oh God, Alice! Alice! Pick up, please! God! Alice!"

"Come on. Come on, come on. COME ON! JASPER PICK UP YOUR FUCKING PHONE!"

The wave pushed on, through each building, not losing momentum quickly enough. I pounded my fists at the window, wanting to get closer. He could not die. He could not die. He could not die. If there were one of us left in the world, it had to be him.

"Alice? Alice! Oh my God, are you OK?" Rosalie ran over to me, mascara staining her cheeks. "Alice, where are you? Starbucks? Oh God no..." Rosalie fell against me, limp screaming into the phone, pleading for Alice to get out.

All I could think about while stroking Rosalie's hair to soothe her was Alice might have canceled on him. Maybe he couldn't get out of class and chickened out. The campus was a ways away from the shore. This had to be another circumstance when he ignored me!

Frantic, my fingers shaking as they wrapped around my cell phone, I dialed his number again, I lifted it up to my ear. It beeped once.

"Oh Christ!" It was going through. Please God pick up. Pick up motherfucker! Pick up!

It beeped twice.

The third time, I lost feeling in my fingers and the phone slipped to the carpet.

"Fuck! No! No!" I roared, tears building. I squeezed my eyes shut, slapping my forehead. I dropped down to my knees, Rose following, still screaming at Alice.

"Alice, there's a monstrous wave about to hit you. You have to get out of there!"

I snatched the phone up from the carpet, pressing it to my ear, dying to hear his voice.

"Jasper!"

"Emmett?" I swear to God, every vessel in my body popped at the sound of his voice. I covered my eyes, dreading the possible truth. He could _not_ be calling me from that shop downtown. Even though the static from his end was undeniable, it didn't matter. He chickened out like he always did. He was on his way to our penthouse now.

"Alice is on her way here! Emmett! Alice is coming!" Rosalie shrieked from my lap.

"Jasper! Where are you? Shit!"

"I can't hear you. The reception is horrible down here. Emmett?"

"Emmett! You got Jasper!" Rosalie hugged me tight. In that moment, something hit the window causing Rosalie to jump. It sounded like hail. Except, when we looked out the window, black pebbles fell from the sky.

"Oh no!" Rosalie screamed. The pebbles cracked the glass, white spiderweb-like cracks forming.

"Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you!" I said to Jasper. I pressed my palm to the glass, willing him to be just down the street. I looked down at the corner, imagining his shaggy hair and dad's damn Doc Martens. A pebble storm would not stop me from getting to Jasper. If I could just get him here, I could protect him.

"Emmett?"

"Jasper!"

"Emmett! It looks like the end of time outside..." I heard screaming in the background. The deafening sound of a million glass windows crashing tore through the earpiece.

"Emmett!" Rosalie yanked me away from the window. "Emmett we have to go!"

I scrambled back up onto my feet, staring out of the window in disbelief. The instant the wave slammed against the row of storefront shops, the screams and the static ceased from the other end of the line.

"Jasper!"

His line was dead.

"Jasper! No! Jesus Christ!"

I tried calling him again, but I got the busy signal again.

Why was God doing this?

The tremors became more intense, and I stumbled backwards, falling to my knees as the wave wiped out all of downtown Seattle.

Jasper was dead. My family was dead.

"Emmett! Emmett let's go please! Emmett, for me!" Rosalie pleaded, pulling at me. "We'll be safe in the basement. Let's go."

"Why should we do anything?" I felt like my voice didn't come from my body. I didn't feel like I had a body. "The world is ending, and there's nothing we can do."

To my left, the photo of Jasper, our dad, and me when we were kids hit the carpet, bouncing around before lying facedown. It was at our first game in Safeco field. The Mariners played the Yankees and the Yankees won. None of the Mariners hit home runs that day. But our dad told us one day, we would catch a home run ball.

He died before he had the chance.

To my right, the baseball Alice caught at Safeco last week rolled off the top shelf of my bookcase and onto the floor. Rosalie had given the ball back last night. She said she bought tickets to another game against the Red Sox for this Saturday. She and Alice would catch their own ball, then. This one belonged to me, Rosalie said.

But when I looked out my windows to the left, Safeco field didn't exist anymore.

No one would be playing baseball this Saturday.

The building groaned around us, then screeched as if each steel beam was being sawed off.

"Wrong, Emmett! We are getting the fuck out of here!" Rosalie got up, reaching down for me. "Get the fuck up! Now!"

But it was too late.

I felt like hurling as the building shook so violently, it was about to tip over. The malodorous scent of burnt metal and sulfur mixed in around us. The apartment became pitch black as the pebbles fell from the sky like death.

"Emmett!"

Rosalie fell to the carpet, holding me tight. But I held her tighter. Tighter than love, tighter than life, tighter than death.

I never had the chance to tell her I liked her. I never had the chance to grow to love her. We wouldn't hold each other tonight, fucking pleased from a good long fuck. She wouldn't wake up ten years from now, beside me bad breath and tampons and all, as my new family. Fucking hell. There would never be a family on earth again.

I should have gone to the basement the moment she walked through the door. Why did I stand here like a fucking punk doing nothing? Fuck! Nothing I ever did was right. I was a goddamn failure.

I should have told Jasper I loved him.

The building groaned and sung a mournful song. For a moment, all I heard was Rosalie's breathing and the pebbles tapping against the windows. Then,

"Never let me go, and I will never let you go," she said really quickly, nodding, so sure that this would be possible. "I promise, Emmett!"

That was when the windows shattered into a million pieces, cutting into our skin. The wind whipping around us, all of the pebbles shot into us like bullets. I tried pulling her toward the door, but the building began to tip over.

"I will never let you go," I hollered out to her over the wind, struggling to hold her face close to my chest, to keep her warm as she had kept me warm. "I will never let go! I will never let go!"

Even as the building crumbled, and a lightning strike as bright as the purest light cut up the sky into a million fragments, I would never let her go.

I would be with her, always, until the end of time.


End file.
